Most conventional freestanding baths today are manufactured out of opaque acrylic, reinforced with FRP (fiberglass reinforced plastic consisting typically of resin, fiberglass, fillers and catalyst) or similar reinforcing backing which is then placed into another acrylic skirt designed to hide the reinforcing backing. The skirts may be an integral part of the bath vessel or they may be separate and attached to the bath vessel allowing for a space between the vessel and the bath skirt for plumbing or equipment. There have been some attempts to produce a freestanding bath with opaque, translucent or semi translucent acrylic as an alternative to this but there design and support structure needed improvements and they ultimately have not sold well in the market. As of today there is no current manufacturer of translucent or semi translucent acrylic freestanding baths in the market.
Conventional freestanding baths that require FRP reinforcement are difficult to manufacture and less environmentally friendly due to the additional labor and material required to reinforce the acrylic shells and the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released into the atmosphere during the FRP process.
Current freestanding baths are not easily leveled once installed. Typically, the baths need to be shimmed, if the floor is not level. This process can be difficult and additional shim block detracts from the overall appearance. Further, the leveling systems are not easy to use and are aesthetically unacceptable to a portion of the population. Current freestanding baths are difficult to properly secure to the floor to avoid unwanted moving of the bath once installed.
The current free standing baths do not provide lighting for the well of the bath. Alternatively, if a through-wall light is provided, it is difficult to access and is aesthetically unacceptable to some end-users of conventional bathtubs.
In another deficiency, current freestanding baths do not adequately support the acrylic shell. The bath shell may have undesirable high stresses around the drain area of the acrylic bath shell, low resistance to point impact loads, loads on the rim and bottom and loads on unsupported bath tub areas.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for an improved freestanding bath to overcome problems in the art as an alternate to the existing freestanding baths in the market today. There is also a need to provide a unique way to illuminate the bath shell and the water in the well.